Our Special Needs Kitty

It’s never a good day when you start off by burying one of your animals. Lacey was Jynx’s kitten that I chose to keep. Jynx had five babies on April 12th- three calicoes and two orange and white. This little monster was my absolute favorite. Lacey’s nickname was “Mini Jynx” because she looked so much like her momma.

Shoelace is her official name. Leah helped me come up with it when this kitten was constantly attacking your shoelaces. It fit her so well! She was full of mischief and curiosity, like all kittens. But there was something different about her.

We noticed and joked about the size of her forehead from the moment she was born. It was gigantic, comparatively, and it seemed misshapen. Then we started noticing differences in her eyes. She could obviously see, and seemed to look at everything in wonder, but the way her pupils dilated with the change in lights was very different from her siblings.

She wasn’t Tom’s favorite, mostly because she attacked his feet almost every night, but she got him to come around because she was just a little sweetie. She was my favorite. Many of you know that I am sort of drawn to those that need “extra,” and this was no different. I knew that she was going to need “more” and I wanted to keep her so that I could give that to her. I was looking forward to giving her all the love I had for her lifetime.

I didn’t know her life would be so short.😔

We had no idea anything was wrong. When we took the kittens to the vet for their well-check, they all seemed healthy. Last night she made a loud noise that I had never heard from her before (she had the teeniest little meow!) I actually thought it was Jack that made this noise, but he wasn’t anywhere nearby. When I heard it, I talked to her and petted her, and she responded the way she always did.

This morning I think my subconscious knew. While I was preparing Josh’s lunch, I made a mental note of which cats I had seen so far today. No Lacey, so I went looking for her. She was laying there, gone, in the first place I checked.

Completely heartbroken. The worst part was leaving her where she was, until after we could get Josh on the bus.

We prepared a place for her, and I know Tom was sad too. Such a difficult morning!

I heard a pastor say once that animals don’t go to Heaven, because they don’t have a soul. I have major issues with this! First, show me where that’s biblical. Second, I don’t believe God would allow us to make such meaningful connections with our animals, and have their death be the end of it. Third, has that pastor ever looked into the eyes of an animal he loved? No soul? I disagree.

I see her in my mind in Heaven, with that look of wonder, playing with a little white butterfly- the kind that flits here and there.

Goodbye, Lacey. I love you, and I’ll miss you until I get to see you again in Heaven!